Manitoba Agriculture filling two specialist positions

Manitoba Agriculture has a new oilseed specialist and its new weed specialist is expected to be on the job in January. Dane Froese, who grew up farming in the Winkler area, started work as the province’s oilseed specialist Nov. 6, Anastasia Kubinec, his boss and former oilseed specialist, said in an interview Dec. 1. Kubinec,

Desiccating sunflowers too early can cut yield and test weight. Ideally seed moisture at the time of desiccation will be 14 to 16 per cent, or at least under 20. The back of the sunflower head can be a guide. The bracts in the photo on the left are not fully brown to the bottom. Seeds in this head will be about 30 per cent moisture. The bracts on the right are brown to the bottom and the back of the head is tan coloured. The seeds will be 15 to 20 per cent moisture.

Lots of advantages to desiccating sunflowers

The key is timing and determining if the crop is good enough to justify the additional cost

Desiccating confection or oilseed sunflowers to speed up harvest can deliver profits and peace of mind, but timing is everything, says Anastasia Kubinec, Manitoba Agriculture’s manager of crop industry development. “There has been a move to more producers going to desiccating sunflowers because they do see the economic benefit to it,” Kubinec said during the


There’s talk of restricting dicamba use in Arkansas following many crop injury complaints there this growing season, but there’s no such talk in Manitoba. Manitoba Agriculture’s Terry Buss spoke about a plot demonstrating dicamba drift damage at the Crop Diagnostic School in Carman in July.

Manitoba sees very limited dicamba drift

There were dicamba drift complaints in Manitoba, 
but nothing like in parts of the U.S.

[*UPDATED: Sept. 18, 2017] There’s talk of restricting dicamba applications in Arkansas and possibly other states, but not in Manitoba. “I don’t think we are anywhere near the situation that they are having in the States (with dicamba crop injury complaints),” Manitoba Agriculture weed specialist Jeanette Gaultier said in an interview Sept. 7. “We seem

Spring cereal harvest nears end, soybeans, corn, sunflowers quickly maturing

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report for September 11

Harvest continues across the province, with spring cereal harvest nearing completion in most areas. Harvest has started in soybeans, flax, and silage corn. Warm, dry conditions continue to quickly advance soybeans, corn, and sunflowers. Dry conditions continue across the province, dry dugouts have been reported. Click here for the Crop Weather Report for the week


VIDEO: Spray tank cleaning after using dicamba

VIDEO: Spray tank cleaning after using dicamba

Jeanette Gaultier with Manitoba Agriculture offers tips on to help prevent dicamba damage in non-Xtend soybeans

With the use of dicamba herbicide in the new Xtend soybean system, a quick rinse of your sprayer tank won’t be enough to rid it of potentially harmful residues to other crops. Jeanette Gaultier, weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, spoke with Allan Dawson at the recent Crop Diagnostic School about the importance of a thorough

VIDEO: Diagnosing phytophthora root rot in soybeans

VIDEO: Diagnosing phytophthora root rot in soybeans

Holly Derksen with Manitoba Agriculture talks about the disease and why you can't just rotate your way out of it

Phytophthora root rot has been a growing concern for Manitoba soybean growers, appearing in fields each year to some extent each year for producers. Last July at the Crop Diagnostic School in Carman, Holly Derksen, field crop pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, talks about what to look for when identifying the disease, when you should scout for it and


Oat plants in central Manitoba display chlorosis discolouration, one of the first signs of barley yellow dwarf virus.

Aphid-borne virus found in Manitoba oat fields

The virus, and its associated chlorosis and premature maturation, has been noted in several oat fields

Oat fields in central Manitoba are fighting off barley yellow dwarf virus. “We see it from year to year,” Man­itoba Agriculture field crop pathologist Holly Derksen said. “I think this is probably the most severe that I’ve seen it in fields, but that being said, it’s historically been present in Manitoba and in varying levels.”

Hot weather advances crops, hurts some canola in process

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report for August 8

Moderate to hot weather from past weeks has advanced crops, but also caused some injury in canola. Rainfall occurred throughout the province, but in many areas more is still needed. Harvest has begun in winter cereals and field peas with good yields and quality reported. Insect monitoring is on-going in many crops, but disease incidence


Fusarium in wheat.

Beneficials on the rise against soybean aphids, root rot, fusarium in fields

Manitoba Insect & Disease Update for August 2

Diamondback moth continues to be a concern in some areas, although it is the pupa stage that is now dominant in some fields. Soybean aphids surpassed economic threshold in some fields. In some soybean fields natural enemy populations seem to be building in response to the soybean aphids. Bertha armyworms are being monitored, and high levels of larvae have

Controlled crop residue burning authorizations begin Aug. 1

Manitoba Agriculture reminds producers who choose to burn crop residue that authorization is required from Aug. 1 to Nov. 15. Daily authorizations are issued by 11 a.m. based on weather and smoke dispersion conditions. Night burning continues to be banned year-round. The daily authorization will indicate if burning is permitted or not, and the start